Wool-scouring machine.



No. 822,954. PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

T. A. JONES. WOOL SCOURING MAGHINR,

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1905.

UN-ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WOOL-SCOURING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906.

Application filed August 28,1905. Serial No. 276,159.

To aZZ whom it m any concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ATKINSON JoNEs, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Essendon, near Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Commonwealth of Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wool-Scouring Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide simple and comparatively inexpensive improvements in tank-machines for the scouring or cleansing of fibrous or delicate material, hereinafter called wool. This is fed into a long tank at one end and discharged in a cleaner condition at the other end, the tank containing any suitable cleansing agent, such as hot soapy liquor freshened as desired. In order not to injure or break the delicate staple or fiber of wool, rough treatment thereof must be avoided.

By my invention the wool is by conveyors driven longitudinally through the tank, propelled toward the discharge end of the tank, and at intervals in such propulsion is gently agitated or bumped or given an undulating or irregular motion, which alters its level, the liquor being gently agitated also. This assists the cleansing.

Other details of the invention are made clear in the course of this specification, part of which consists of drawings showing various parts of apparatus usable in carrying the invention into effect.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a side elevation, partly sectional, of a tank and connectedparts at the wool-entry end; and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation on line 7 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly sectional, at the wool-discharge end of the tank. The discharged wool is delivered to squeezingrollers (not shown) or as may be predetermined. Figs. 4 and 5 show in side elevation some of the means for producing the aforesaid undulating motion.

In the drawings, a indicates any suitable tank; I), a gratin or false or other suitable bottom therein c, the water-level, and d a pusher, paddle, conveyer, or fork of any suitable construction, hereinafter called, for brevity, fork, which is moved along and propels the wool toward the discharge end. The fork shown is composed of teeth (not necessarily in all cases sharp) projecting from a body e, which maybe a transverse bar having mounted on each end a roller f to run on a track g. Bars 6 are connected, as by links a, to an endless chain or belt 72., stretched between sprocket-wheels and rollers or the like i 7' 7: Z m, adjustable where desired and driven as by sprocket-wheel t', which is turned by suitable means, as a pulley (not shown) on axle m.

The forks have projecting shanks n, with ordinarily an antifriction device, as roller 0. The forks do not swing loosely on their pivots, (rollers f,) since the resistance of the Wool in front of the teeth tends to press the latter back, and therefore to press rollers oforward, while a longitudinal rail p is so located that the rollers 0 meet rail p at such points that the forks move along in an inclined position normally, as at (1, Figs. 1 and 4. At any desired intervals rail or guide 2) is provided, however, with recesses, projections, or means to temporarily tilt or alter the angle or working position of each fork as its roller 0 or equivalent engages with said means. Thus g is a projection made integral with the rail, and r a recess so made. 8 is a roller attached to the rail, the roller-surface located to form a proj ection. A straight rail may have projection or recess pieces bolted on, or clamp-pieces, as t, of any suitable contour (shown in Fig. 5) may be fastened to the rail p by slots at and thumb-screws o, and bein easily removed or shifted the undulation of the wool may be accordingly varied. The. effect of these undulators or agitating devices will be understood from Fig. 4, wherein different angular positions or planes of a fork are shown dotted. At the discharge end of the tank the bottom 6 leads to an upwardly-inclined ramp 7), and the rails g and guide 9 are inclined upwardly, as at g p, the wool being pushed over the ramp-top without having to use any other pushers than forks d.

g shows an upper track with end 9 adapted to engage under rollers f, the forks hanging freely in the upper part of their journey, which is in the direction shown by arrows.

to is an upper guide-rail disposed above the sprocket-wheel i and provided with the upwardly-curved end w, the said rail being adapted to engage the roller 0 of the shank n to move the forks a to a slanting position, so

as to clear the pocket '51 and the other obstacles in rounding the sprocket-wheel and powershaft m.

The end 1) of guide 1) is so located that rollers 0 mount said end, and by the curve of the said guide the rollers are brought along the under side thereof.

so is a tray or trough over the tank with a pocket y, used in some cases to arrest small pieces of wool falling from the forks in the return part of their journey.

Various changes in construction may be made while retaining matter of my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a tank-machine for cleaning wool, lon itudinally movable and partially rotatable forks provided with projections, antifriction-rollers journaled in said projections, upper and lower longitudinal tracks, a longitudinal guide-rail having projections thereon for changing the working angle of said forks, and a guide-rail disposed above said tank and at one end thereof and adapted to move said forks to an angle in order that all obstructions may be avoided, substantially as described.

2. In a tank-machine for cleaning wool, a driven shaft at one end of said tank, a

sprocket-wheel mounted on said shaft, a pair of sprocket-wheels mounted in the other end of said tank, an endless chain engaging upon said. wheels, a plurality of forks mounted on said chain and comprising a pivotally-mounted transverse bar and a series of depending prongs attached to said bar, upper and lower longitudinal tracks, rollers mounted. on said transverse bar and engaging said tracks, an upwardly-extending shank mounted intermediate the ends of said transverse bar, a lower guide-rail centrally disposed in said tank, and engaging the free end of said shank, said rail being provided with a plurality of spaced depressions adapted to tilt said prongs to agitate the contents of said tank, a drip-trough disposed. in said tank having one end extending downwardly over said driven shaft and provided. with a pocket, and an upper guiderail disposed above said sprocket-wheel adapted to depress said shank and move said prongs to an angle whereby they may freely pass said driven shaft and said pocket on said drip-trough in rounding said sprocket-wheel, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS A. JONES. Witnesses:

ANTHONY J. CALLINAN, CHARLES HARKETT. 

